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3 hours ago
While the Patriots
defense, Josh Gordon, and Phillip Dorsett stole all the headlines, Rex Burkhead
and James White also deserve recognition.
Unquestionably,
the three biggest stars of the New England Patriots‘ Sunday
night thrashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers were Josh Gordon, Phillip
Dorsett, and Bill Belichick’s defense as a whole.
Dorsett
and Gordon together combined for all three of New England’s touchdowns; they
also accounted for nearly a third of Tom Brady’s completions, and nearly half
of the Patriots’ total yards through the air. The New England defense held the
Pittsburgh offense to just 32 total rushing yards on the ground, and just three
measly points on the scoreboard.
It’s no
surprise then that these were the dominant storylines coming out of the game. But lost in all this justifiable
excitement – not to mention all the Antonio Brown hoopla – was the terrific
performance of a pair of Patriots running backs.
Especially
with Sony Michel struggling to get much of anything going on the ground, offensive coordinator Josh
McDaniels turned to James White and Rex Burkhead to power the New England
rushing attack. With both players as much a threat to catch the ball as
they are to run with it, the Steelers defense was unable to stack the box when
either was in the game… the way they routinely did for Michel.
The result was yards, yards, and more
yards.
Burkhead actually finished the game as
New England’s leading rusher, averaging a robust 5.5 yards per attempt en route
to 44 yards on just eight carries. White had an even higher
average at 6.5 yards per clip, finishing with 26 yards on his four carries.
Together, they accounted for nearly 70% of the Patriots’ ground game on a night
when Michel averaged less than one yard per tote.
Again,
part of that production comes from defenses having to account for their
abilities as receivers.
Sure enough, both White and Burkhead
did plenty of damage through the air as well against Pittsburgh, finishing as
the team’s fourth and fifth-leading receivers on the night, respectively. White
had five receptions on seven targets for 56 yards. Burkhead caught five of his eight targets for 41
yards.
The
Patriots have a long and prolific history employing pass-catching running backs
who can do it all for Tom Brady and the team. Whether it’s been Shane Vereen,
Dion Lewis, or Kevin Faulk, New England loves the mismatch that these Swiss
Army knife-types create against opposing defenses.
James
White has enjoyed a higher profile over the years thanks in no small part to
his phenomenal, MVP-worthy performance against the Atlanta Falcons in the
Patriots’ historic Super Bowl 51 comeback. Still, he’s routinely undervalued
and criminally underestimated by anyone outside of PPR fantasy football
players.
Rex Burkhead, on the other hand, is probably a
relative unknown to anyone outside of the six New England states or Ohio (where
he once played for the Cincinnati Bengals). Even though he’s struggled a bit
with injuries during his NFL career, when he’s healthy, he represents one of
the more dynamic two-way offensive players in the league today.
Both players are still young as well. Burkhead
is just 29 years old and White is only 27; together, they represent a bright
future in New England as reliable safety valves for Brady, who also know how to
move the sticks when they have to as pure running backs. Both men deserve more recognition
for their solid contributions on Sunday night.
